THE CITY REBORN FROM THE ASHES OF AMERICA'S MOST DISASTROUS FOREST FIRE

Cougars Dominate Conference Dual, Claim M&O Title

Issue Date: January 24, 2018

The Coleman Cougars went 4-0 with a combined score of 264-6 to win the M&O Conference on Friday, Jan. 19. "Our kids went out and wrestled aggressive and didn't overlook their competition," said Coleman Coach Kevin Casper. "We only lost one match all night which is pretty awesome." The M&O Conference title was the 15th straight and the 27th overall for a Casper led Coleman wrestling team.

"I guess that's pretty special and sometimes you take it all for granted because at some point all good things come to an end, but will enjoy it while it lasts," said Casper. "What makes Coleman Wrestling special first off is the kids that are good hard working kids that respect the program and what Coleman wrestling stands for. It's a program when they walk away when their high school career is over and they can lift their head up high and be proud to say they were a big part of something pretty special."

In the first match of the day for the Cougars, they made quick work of Oneida Nation in a 66-0 win, with neither of two matches making it out of the first period.

Grzybowski (113), Kuchta (132), Scott (182) and Martinson (220) each won by forfeit. "Jake Baldwin wrestled very well beating two very good kids in Lemens from Gillett-Suring and Retza from Crivitz in dominating fashion."

Gillett/Suring took second in the conference. Besides the loss to Coleman, the team was undefeated in three other duals.

The Wolverines were third in the conference. Against Oneida Nation, they won 30-0. Joseph Tomaszewski (220) pinned Chris Danforth in 25 seconds and Jaden Bemis pinned David Reed in 39 seconds.

The Crivitz match with Lena/STAA to decide third place came down to a tiebreaker, with the Wolverines winning 31-30.. Crivitz won the only two live matches of the day, with Retza (152) pinning Brian Ermis in 3:15 and Bemis taking down Eli Loftis in 1:37 at 160. Tomaszewski (220), Jopek (145) and Lawrence (170) won by forfeit.

Bulldogs Remain Tied for Packerland Lead With Win Over Eagles

The Peshtigo Bulldogs came away with a 40-30 win over the Southern Door Eagles on senior night on Thursday, Jan. 18, winning all but one live match.

The Bulldogs started with a 6-0 advantage when Mitchell Peters (160) pinned Caleb Buchberger in 1:58.

"He's been struggling, but he needed to set the tone for us and he did exactly that," Peshtigo Coach Warren Howard said. "Mitchell came out aggressive and that how he needs to wrestle."

After a Haden Heinrich (170) forfeit win for the Eagles, the Bulldogs won three straight to extend a 24-6 lead.

Riley Ploczynski (195) won by forfeit and both Kody Klimek (220) and Gavin Brissette (285) won via pins.

Klimek beat Isais Garcia in a 3:42 pin and Brissette extended the Bulldogs' lead to 18 with a pin of Santtu Kiljuner in 1:04.

"Kody did a really great job," Howard said. "Kody has only been wrestling part of the season and he's doing really well for us." "Gavin's a good heavyweight and basically man handled his opponent."

The Eagles won two of the next four via forfeit, with Austin Falish (106) and Kyle Conard (120) each going uncontested, but Zack Wauters (113) and Nick Parrett (126) made sure the Bulldogs didn't lose much ground.

Wauters beat Griffin Slewewski in a 14-8 decision in his final match at home, while Parrett took a 12-2 major decision to make the score 31-18.

"I think Zack was trying to over-wrestle a little." I think he got out of his really good wrestling ability and he put himself in bad positions," said Howard "But he came back in the later periods and came on strong."

Parrett had Ben Kielar on his back for most of the match, but just couldn't finish the pin.

"I think he gassed himself out trying to pin the guy so much," Howard said. "I think that takes a lot of the energy out of you."

John Schaut (132) won by 9-2 decision over Drew Price to move the lead to 16, and after a Bradley Skippon (138) forfeit win for the Eagles, the Bulldogs got their most dominant win of the day.

Max Rauch needed just 15 seconds to defeat Jordan Vandertie in the 145-pound weight class, giving the Bulldogs their final six points and the win, despite a Devyn Wauters (152) loss to Grant Englebert in the final match of the day, with the Bulldog wrestler finishing the match hurt. "Devyn had great hips", said Howard. "He tries things that most people won't. I think he was actually hurt a minute before the match ended. But he won't give up."

Marinette Battles Back for Win Over Little Chute

The Marinette Marines started in a 15-0 hole against the Little Chute Mustangs on Thursday, Jan. 18, but they came away with a 37-33 win at home.

The Mustangs began with four wins, with Logan Verboomen (113) beating Owen Suennen in an 8-6 decision, Lucas Reader (120) defeating Alec Queever by 14-7 decision and Bryan Rodriguez taking a 5-3 decision over London Brown at 126 before Adam Kilgas (132) extended the lead with six points against Josh Goslyn, pinning him in just under two minutes.

Sam Gressel gave the Marines their first win of the evening with a 15-7 major decision against Paul List at 138, while Sam McClain (145) won by forfeit to make the score 15-10 Mustangs.

It was at that point that the heroics started for the Marines, as Devin Shedlock came away with a takedown as time expired on the clock, winning 3-1 against Steven Haack at 152.

Sam Drees (160) took a forfeit win, and the Marines suddenly had the lead at 19-15.

The Mustangs took it back with a Bryce Schumacher pin of Brady McVane at 170, but Marinette took the lead for good with a Sean Holk (182) pin of Cole Hawkins in 2:23.

Dillon Hill (195) pinned Quintin Barlow as time expired to get another win in dramatic fashion, with Reese Holder (220) following it up with a 1:11 pin of Nick Wegand.

Little Chute won the final two matches with a Jacob Lehrer pin of Cory Siebers at 285 and a Noah Kilgas 25-second pin against Chase Weishaar, but it was too little, too late, as the Marines escaped with the 37-33 victory.

Coleman Wrestles Well But Falls to Top Ranked Lux-Casco

Coleman was bested by Luxemberg-Casco on Tuesday, Jan. 23, with four forfeits the difference in a 45-28 loss.

Were it not for the forfeits, the Cougars could have come away with the win, as they took six of the 10 live matches. "Our kids wrestled excellent tonight," said Coleman Coach Kevin Casper. "We won 6 of the 10 contested matches which is great considering we were wrestling a team that is currently ranked #1 in Div 2 and will probably win another team title."

Jonathon Bieber (170) started the Cougars with a win, beating Alex VanDenPlas in a 17-1 tech fall for five points.

The Spartans would win three of the next five matches by forfeit, however, giving them a lead that was too much to overcome. Brock Martinson (285) won by injury default for the Cougars but Nate Lloyd pinned Spencer Karban of the Cougars at 220, giving the Spartans a 24-11 lead. The Cougars would pull within a match's distance with wins from Koltin Grzybowski and Caleb Gross, with Grzybowski (113) winning by tech fall and Gross (120) pinning Luke Shefchik.

Jake Baldwin (138) beat the Spartans' Cameron Lemmens in a 10-6 decision and Shamus McLain (160) won by 4-3 decision over Reece Worachek, with the Spartans getting wins from Colton Worachek (145) by major decision over Tyler Blanchard and Devan Vandenbush in a forfeit to seal the deal and secure the team win. "Shamus McLain won a big match tonight as did Jake Baldwin. Very proud of our teams performance," said Casper.

North Fond du Lac/St. Mary Springs Grapplers Down Oconto

Lucas Ruechel (285) got the Blue Devils' only six points via forfeit.

In the only live match, Isaac Diaz was defeated by Lane Fritch at 182 in a heart-breaker, 9-8.

North Fond du Lac got forfeit wins from eight wrestlers and three matches were double forfeits.

They were defeated by Kewaunee on Jan. 18 in a 75-4 final. Diaz took a 16-7 major decision win, while Ruechel lost 5-2 to Paul Wery.

Menominee Matmen Compete at UP Championship

Menominee tied for 14th at the U.P. Championships in Marquette over the weekend.

Matt Nowack took fifth in the 140-pound weight class. He went 4-1 on the day with four pin victories in less than a minute, beating Sault Area's Kayden King, Marquette's Aidan Claffey, Newbery's Jacob Gribbell and Ishpeming's Austin Hurkmans. His only loss came to 18-2 Hunter Larson of Escanaba.

Tyler Heusinger (119) took sixth. He lost his first match of the day to Iron Mountain's Trevor Malburg, but capitalized off of a bye win before taking on Westwood's Wyatt Carlson, who he pinned in the second period. After a major decision win in the next round, he was beaten by Soo's Nathan Heyman.

Aidan Smith was sixth at 112, going 1-2 in live matches with a pin victory over LaSalle's Matt Valletta.

Maroons Go Two and Two at Westwood Quad

The Menominee Maroons split a pair at the Westwood Quad on Monday, Jan. 18, beating Gwinn and losing to the hosts from Westwood.

The Maroons faced limited competition from Gwinn en route to a 34-6 win. Matt Nowack (140) pinned Lynn Urmanski in 15 seconds for six Maroon points, Hunter Wroblewski took down Josh Filizetti in 2:20 and Aidan Smith (112) won by major decision over Elaina Winkler, 11-2. Seth Smith (160), William Burnett (171) and Kaeleb Crawford won by forfeit for the Marines, while Gwinn's only six points came via forfeit from Daniel Johnson (215).

Against Westwood, the Maroons were defeated 66-12. Nowack pinned Elliot Lemire in 2:19 and Wroblewski won by forfeit.